Perfect
by Broken Wings And Broken Smile
Summary: Why can't I be perfect? Why doesn't mom love me? I want her to be proud of me.' Hinata lives with her abusive mother who won't love her if she isn't perfect. She feels like she's drowning, then finds a boy who loves her the way she is. Our world. NaruHina
1. Announcement

I have decided to edit this story, change a bit, then re-upload. I didn't like it when I re-read it, I thought it was a bit childish, and I was working my way into a Mary Sue. So it's changed, you may want to read it again, and not just the new chapter.

Thank you,

~Broken Wings


	2. Drowning

**Chapter 1: Drowning**

This fic was inspired by the song 'Perfect' by Alanis Morissette, and my home life. There are kids who live like this, and it's abuse. If you or someone you know is being abused, call your local Child Abuse hotline.

EDIT: Ok, I've been getting reviews telling me to continue, so I'm going to write more on this. Yay!

_**This is an edited re-upload. I decided to change a few things.**_

**This fic was inspired by the song 'Perfect' by Alanis Morissette. I do not own 'Perfect', or Naruto.**

"Worthless little shit!" A coffee cup crashed to the tan-colored rug. "Why can't you do anything right?" A small, pale girl with her purple hair in a short bob, bent over and picked up the shards of the mug, staying silent. '_I don't know, mom. I'm sorry_.'

_Sometimes is never quite enough _

_If you're flawless, then you'll win my love_

"Well, don't just stand there! If the trash is full, you take it out, and put a new bag in! God, why are you so stupid, Hinata?" Hinata ran the broken ceramic over to the trash, and ran through the door in the kitchen to put the full bag in the can in the dark, dank 'garage', coming back in just in time to see her mom in the goldenrod reclining rocking-chair with her honor roll certificate.

"Who is Neji, and why is he ranked number one? Why aren't you number one?" Hinata looked down at her feet, shuffling. "You know Neji, you met his dad at the last parent teacher conference. He teaches chemistry, remember?"

"Hmph. He must be rigging the GPA. Dirty cheat." He wasn't. Hinata knew he wasn't. But it made her mom feel better. Her mom had that look in her eyes. She knew that one. She didn't want to be here when she exploded.

"I want you to be the best! God knows you don't do anything around here, so your grades should be perfect. Get off your lazy ass and help out around here!" _'But I do everything around here!_' She thought. _'The only thing she does is her job down at the gas station. I have school, and then I do all the housework!_' This wasn't strictly true, but she felt better thinking it.

"I'll take out the trash, right now." She practically lunged for the door, about to exit into the cool night air. She knew her mom wouldn't remember that she'd taken it out two minutes previously.

"Wait. Come back." Hinata walked, slowly and nervously, to the recliner. Her mother eyed her speculatively. "You're gonna go see a boy, aren't you?" Hinata's eyes widened. She was in trouble.

"No, mother, I just wanted to clean up a bit and-" The smack resonated throughout the room. Hinata lost balance and was knocked to the ground. "Don't just stand there, whore. Go get me a beer."

_Don't forget to win first place _

_Don't forget to keep that smile on your face _

_Be a good boy _

_Try a little harder _

_You've got to measure up _

_And make me prouder_

_How long before you screw it up _

_How many times do I have to tell you to hurry up?_

Hinata pulled herself into a standing position, holding her cheek. She paced briskly to the kitchen, it being connected to the living room she had been in, out of fear. The white-tiled, pink-speckled walls were suffocating her. She grabbed a beer out of the cheap, garage-sale, 50's style refrigerator with shaking hands.

She walked back to find her mom on the phone, like she usually was. She grabbed the beer and covered the mouthpiece. "Get out of here, bitch. I'm on the phone. Beat it, Miss Number Two."

_With everything I do for you _

_The least you can do is keep quiet_

Hinata walked out of the trailer and onto the black street. When she walked on it at night, it looked like a huge, dark lake, and it made her feel like she was drowning. She got enough of that feeling at home.

She walked off of it and onto the grass of the 'park' right outside her home. It was really only a bench, grass, and some trees, but it was enough. All the way over she was thinking of mom.

'_Why is she like that? Why can't I ever be good enough? I try, I try so hard! But I'm never good enough for her. I'm never the daughter she wants_.' She was content to angst, knowing she was simply wallowing in self-pity. What the hell else could she do?

_Be a good girl _

_You've gotta try a little harder _

_That simply wasn't good enough _

_To make us proud_

Hinata found her favorite tree, and climbed up to a little seat in it she loved, looking up at the midnight sky. It was a starless evening, and it gave her that feeling like she was sinking again, so she concentrated on the full, bright, magnolia-colored moon instead.

'_Why? Is she living vicariously through me, because she never made it? So she can brag to her friends about her perfect daughter, "so much better than yours"? So she can ride with me to the top and get all the glory? For "making me what I am"? She didn't do anything! I did everything she brags about!_'

_I'll make you what I never was _

_If you're the best, then maybe so am I _

_Compared to him compared to her _

_I'm doing this for your own damn good _

_You'll make up for what I blew_

She began crying, crystal tears shining. _'Why? I want her to love me, I want mom to love me so much. Mom, please love me. I need you to love me._'

"Hey, why are you crying?" She looked down to see a kid around her age. He had messy gold hair, and sky-blue eyes. And most important, his smile shone, the kind that could make YOU smile just by looking at it, even though he had had his share of misery.

She recognized him. Naruto, from next door. His folks and her folks got along well enough. She suspected he got hit too, though he never said anything.

_What's the problem? ... why are you crying?_

Hinata, looked down, embarrassed. "It's n-nothing, j-just issues at home." Naruto climbed up and sat next to her, brushing her tears from her cheeks with his thumb. "But you can tell me, if you want to."

Hinata spent over an hour, sitting, just _talking_ with Naruto, crying a bit. At the end, she was very tired, and it showed. She knew that, like herself, he was forbidden to go home tonight.

_Be a good boy _

_Push a little farther now _

_That wasn't fast enough _

_To make us happy_

So she leaned back against him, and snuggled into his chest, closing her eyes. He wrapped an arm around her, and leaned his head on her shoulder.

Before she drifted off to sleep, he asked her if she liked her name. She thought for a minute and said "Maybe someday." He just smiled, he understood. And she fell asleep, knowing that she didn't have to sink anymore, all she had to do was find him, and she'd be on top again.

_We'll love you just the way you are if you're perfect_.


	3. School

_**This chapter has been edited and re-uploaded.**_

**Chapter 2: School**

School was boring, as it always was. But Hinata paid attention in case some small detail was on a test. Damn.

Hinata was who she was when she was with her best friend, Naruto. And that was her. Not this other Hinata, scared little mouse who was never good enough, who could never win anyone's love, or respect.

She and Naruto had met only a few weeks ago, really met. They had seen each other before, but never really talked.

Until that fateful night when she had been kicked out of the house, and been introduced to a new world, one where she didn't have to be perfect to be loved.

One where she was perfect to someone as herself. Perfect to him.

She was absentmindedly doodling on paper, attention on her schoolwork no longer being strictly paid, thinking about her ramen-loving knight in faded armor. She went back to where she always did.

Why her? She wasn't good enough for him. She was smart, but wasn't pretty, wasn't skinny. She had big boobs, but she wasn't a great speaker. She wasn't special in any way, besides her stellar GPA. Hehe, that rhymed.

So why did he choose her? He was an amazing guy, surely he could have anyone he wanted? So why her?

"Miss Hyuuga! Pay attention! You are our star pupil! I'm sure Neji could decipher the question on the board. Now why don't you give it a try?"

Hinata could feel her cheeks burning bright red from embarrassment. There she was, being compared to Neji again, number two. Always second best. She stood up and recited, "tan(3+bx) + cot(ax-5)sec(2ax) 2kcsc(ax**)(AN: I have no idea if this is possible, I just took an absolutlely random equation and added numbers.)**

The sensei looked down her horn-rimmed glasses at her, making her feel very small indeed. "That is correct, Miss Hyuuga. Please take your seat and pay attention from now on."

She sunk into her seat, ignoring the giggles of the school Mean Girls, Ino and Sakura and Tenten. "Ignore them. They're stupid. Remember the last test?" She looked over to her friend, Kiba. She checked out his shaggy, brown hair and the red tattoos on his cheeks.

He wasn't as close to her as Naruto, but he was a best friend nonetheless. He was a real dog person, and helped out at the local kennel after school. He always had his dog Akamaru with him when not during school hours. The two were inseparable, and could communicate better than most humans.

Kiba grinned a wolfish grin. "They all failed. In fact, Ino got a 0. She turned in a blank test! They don't know shit, beyond daddy's gold card and being whores." Hinata smiled. Kiba was good at making her feel better.

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. She grabbed her books, rushing outside. Her next class was gym, and she had to get there in time to get a bathroom stall: she had to hide the bruises. She rushed down the hallways, only to be halted in her haste by an arm reaching in front of her to stop her.

She dropped her books in surprise, looking up to see the one, the only, Neji Ikameshii, with a superior smirk on his face. "Going somewhere, Hyuuga?"

**OHMIGOSH! Cliffie! Sorry this chapter's so short, I'm writing this at 12:00 AM, because I love you all, and mom's nagging me to go to bed. This was kind of filler, and I'm not too happy with it, but I promise a killer next chappie, mmk?**

**Oh, and for those of you that were wondering, Neji isn't Hinata's cousin in this. His last name means "(1) severe; strict; rigid; unsparing; relentless; (2) stern; austere; grave; solemn; majestic; (3) intense (cold)" By golly and by gosh, that's our anal little buddy right there. ;)**

**Peace, Huggles and Loli Love,**

**Broken Wings**


	4. Dodgeball

**Chapter 3: Dodgeball**

_**This chapter has been edited and re-uploaded.**_

Hey guy, Broken Wings back with another chapter of 'Perfect'

**Hey guy, Broken Wings back with another chapter of 'Perfect'. I'm SO sorry it took me so long to update, but I have assloads of school work because I procrastinated in a few classes. sweatdrop Also, I'm grounded until my grades come up and have been for a while. So I **_**snuck**_** on to get this up. Be grateful. DO IT NAO!**

**I did around 330 math problems today, but I still updated. Be thankful! I'm going to try and get the next chapter up within the week. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, alerted, and favorited.**

**THIS ONE'S FOR YOU!**

_Recap: (Hinata rushed to gym class, but an arm shot out in front of her._ _She dropped her books in surprise, looking up to see the one, the only, Neji Ikameshii, with a superior smirk on his face. "Going somewhere, Hyuuga?")_

Hinata's face colored with shyness. "K-konichiwa, Neji-san." She lowered herself to the ground to pick up her books. A smooth, dark-chocolate voice spoke out above her. "Shouldn't you be calling me 'Neji-sama'?"

Hinata stiffened. 'Sama'. Like he was above her. Neji drawled on, "Of course, your current position is the one you SHOULD be in. On your knees, at my feet."

On her knees… at his feet. Like he was a King, and she was his slave. No, she would never do that. Hinata gathered her books quickly, and stood up. "Goodbye, Neji-san."

Hinata turned but a strong hand caught her arm. She turned and looked into Neji's startlingly white eyes. The smirk was gone, and the look in his eyes scared her.

"You'd better watch your back, Hyuuga. I'm not even comparable to a loser like you. Now's the time to use what little brain you have, and get out of my way." The smirk was back, but he looked crazy. "It would be a shame if someone scarred that pretty little face."

Oh shit. This guy was dangerously unbalanced. He was bats-in-the-belfry bonkers! **(A.N. Try saying that three times fast.)** Why couldn't he go be crazy somewhere else?

He let go of her arm, and turned from her, his long, dark hair swishing. As he walked away, she just stared at the ground until she realized she had to start walking before she was late.

'Nevermind. You'll see Naruto and then it will go away.' That's how she had begun thinking of him. He could take her problems away. That was part of her insecurity, he could always help her, but she wasn't sure if she helped him.

"You listen to me. You DO help me. You're enough." Yeah, he told her that, but was it true? She didn't feel like she did anything. She wanted to help him.

She wanted to be useful. To someone at least.

"Get a hold of yourself. You've only known him for a few weeks. You can't be in love with him already. 'Don't be a little whore' like mom would say."

**BANG!**

The dodge ball slammed into her stomach. Well, as long as no organs popped out while she was sitting there coughing, she was ok.

Neji was smirking. She was sure he didn't have Gym this period. So what was he doing here? He must have transferred. Was he just here to torture her? To make sure she didn't steal his thunder?

Yeah, right. He didn't have the _huevos_ to have thunder. Let's face it, Neji had gay!hair. And the way he switched his hips when he walked down the hallway? Definite fruit.

Neji 'accidentally' groped Ino when he reached for a ball. Hm. Maybe not such a fruit.

Smack! All cower from the red rubber doom. Hinata walked away, rubbing her pink cheek, silently cursing Neji's sociopathic love of violence. YOU'RE NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO HIT ABOVE THE CHEST ANYWAY, ASSHOLE! Hmph. Jerk. Kiba skittered over to her.

"Don't sweat it, Hyuuga. He's probably just jealous of your delicious tits." "KYAA! KIBA!" The bastard couldn't stop laughing. He loved making her blush many different shades of red.

THUD! "Oh my God! Neji just got pwned!" What? Oh come all ye faithful- Hinata looked over. Neji was sprawled on the floor, his/her hair sticking up in feathery wisps. He looked like a disheveled and very pissed angel.

"Hn. You ok?" Asked Sasuke, the hottest kid in school. That was him very concerned. He hardly ever showed emotion, so him being concerned was big. But everyone thought he and Neji were ghey 4 each other, so not so surprised.

Who pwned Neji? The King of All Sports? Was it Lee? That new kid with the monster eyebrows and the killer fastball? No, not Kiba. OR Shino. Or that weird kid with the red hair-

Wait. Who? She could swear she'd never seen **him** before. His messy red hair stood up in all directions. His sea-foam eyes were darkly out lined. Did he wear make-up? The gym uniform's white shirt and black shorts hung limply from his thin, tight frame.

He was totally fucking hot.

"Whoa. Who is he?" Hinata asked, trying not to let her tongue hang out. She wasn't sure she wasn't panting. Woof. Kiba shrugged. "Some new kid. But did you see that? He had the honor of indirectly bitch-slapping Neji. Everyone wants to do that."

"Yeah…" She stared at him. Until he looked back. "Eep!" She looked away blushing as the bell rang to go change. He walked away. Sigh. Good. Now to go change and get to class- BUMP!

Uhhhhhh. The new kid was standing in front of her. Chest to chest. UHHHHHHH.

"UHHHHHH." Oh, nice Hyuuga, nice. "What's your name? Why were you looking at me?" Oh, well he was well-versed in subtleties. "M-my name is H-h-hinata-a. I w-was only looking 'cause you, um, you got Neji out. No one can do that."

His eyebrows went up. Wait, no they didn't. He didn't have any. But if he DID…

"Oh. Ok. My name is-"

**CLIFFIE! Ok, I have to go or I'll get caught. But while I'm grounded, I'll be working on the next chapter! Now I want you to vote. Who is the new stranger? Yes, I'm serious. Tell me who you think it is. I honestly want you to. I'm not kidding.**

**I'll try and update…uhhh… I'll try and sneak on to update within a week. If I can't… Sorry! But I'll be going to Dad's in two weeks, and I'm not grounded there, soooo… Review! Please? And once again, I'm sorry for the month-long pause or whatever. I suck. I feel really guilty, if it helps!**

**Peace, love and plot bunnies **

**~Broken Wings.**


	5. Curiouser

**Chapter 4: Curiouser**

_**This chapter has been edited and re-uploaded.**_

**Ok, Broken Wings here. I am (un)officially ungrounded. Mom let me have a birthday party, AND let me go to a school dance, AND let me go to a friend's house. So I think I'm ungrounded. **

**But before, she took my comp away. So cannot has update, 'cause it turns out that I WAS grounded at dad's too after all. *sweatdrop* Heheheh… And not one person guessed who it was! And I had to re-write the whole chapter twice, after the first got lost and the second got deleted after my laptop crapped out.**

**Oh well, I'm here, and I'm going to do as much writing as possible while I have teh Intarwebs. But I will admit the first thing I did was check all my fics I subscribed to and my Myspace, and youtubed a LOT of crap first. **

**Not that you guys aren't important…. 5 months alone in my room…. I'm even crazier than usual. But I digress. Now on with the "Perfection". (I know, bad joke.)**

_His eyebrows went up. Wait, no they didn't. He didn't have any. But if he DID… "Oh. Ok. My name is-"_

"My name is Gaara." Hinata backed up. "Oh, my name's Hinata. Bye." She turned around and walked/ran away but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her flush against him again. (SPLODE….. PERSONAL *gasp* BUBBLE!)

"Will I see you later today?" he asked solemnly. "I d-don't k-know." she said, the stammer returning. "I d-don't know m-my- I mean YOUR schedule. I know MY schedule, I-I just…." Oh, God, she was lit up like a tree now, providing the tree was covered in red.

"Hm, ok." And just like that he left. Leaving her stunned, confused, and dizzy. Ok, well, that was only because she had forgotten to breathe again. Stupid lungs. Who needs them anyway? Oh. Right. Well.

She ran for the locker room, not stopping until she reached "her" shower stall. She always showered in this stall, since frosh year. She even kept some of her stuff there- she was sure none of the girls would come in to steal it.

She sank down under the lime-caked shower head to calm down. Why was she even thinking about this? I mean, it wasn't like she and Naruto were exclusively dating, or dating at all, really. But then why did she feel she had betrayed him?

It was nonsense anyhow. Gaara was just a boy. Just a boy with clear, sad, sea-foam-green eyes. Sad like Naruto's had been. Sad like she was sure hers had been. Sad like he had lost every friend in the world. Like he had no one to love, or to love him.

Damn maternal instincts. That's all it was, maternal instincts. That's why she wanted to hold him and make it all better. Didn't matter that he was the hottest thing since Johnny Depp in boyshorts. (**A.N. Sorry, Johnny Depp. No offense intended.)**

She stood up and unceremoniously yanked on her jeans and t-shirt. "I'd better get to class before I get anymore crazy ideas. Psh. Yeah. Crazy. Heh heh. *smack* Stop that. Wow, maybe I really am crazy. *shrug*"

She got to biology class just as the bell rang, sliding into her seat rapidly, not noticing a familiar face. "Hello, Hinata." Gaara's deep baritone almost had her jumping out of her seat. "Gyeah! Oh, uh, I mean, hi."

He looked amused at her flustered state. "I see we have at least two classes together." She laughed nervously. "Yeah, I-I guess we d-do, Gaara-san." He stared at her steadfastly. "Please, call me Gaara-kun." Well, it was obvious she would blush. He had a smirk to rival even Neji-the-homosexual-ass. **(A.N. Hey, that could be his "Indian Name"!)**

"HEY, SEXY, WHAT'S SHAKIN'? YOU GOT A GUY, OR WHAT? WANNA HOOK UP AFTER SCHOOL?" shouted a boy wearing a lot of make up and all black from across the room. Damn Emos. They were all attracted to her solitude, and huge rack. "Damn these DD-cups!" Hinata thought to herself.

Gaara growled under his breath. "Kankuro, if you want to keep your balls attached to your body, you will shut up now." Kankuro quickly shut up, so Hinata figured he must have been threatened before, so he knew not to mess with Gaara, and risk his chance of ever reproducing.

Gaara's ill humor did not improve with the absence of his brother's lewd suggestions. He stared silently at the wall for the rest of class. When the bell rang, he rose silently and left without a word, a la Edward Cullen. (**A.N. Gag.**)

"Wow. Is he moody or what?" Hinata thought. "But still, I get to go to the park with Naruto tonight! When I get to him, all the weird crap that happened today won't matter. W00T! And I can tell him about Neji and Kankuro and-" For some reason, she had trouble thinking the last name. Weird. As Alice said- "Curiouser and curiouser." But Alice also talked to flowers, takes weed-smoking caterpillars seriously, and was under the influence of "magic mushrooms".

Not exactly the best role model. But whatever. She'd see Naruto and then things would make sense again. Tonight.

**Ok, I know the caterpillar wasn't smoking weed, but when I was younger I was convinced the guy was a stoner. Shows you about my childhood. Anyways, see you soon, dear readers!**

**Peace, huggles, and half-psychotic love,**

**~Broken Wings**


	6. Honor Roll

The thick, Kelly green grass still abounded in our park. The old, sturdy trees were still there. And so were we, despite the odds. Naruto held me in our tree, like the first night we met. I had almost forgotten his real name.

"So how are you, Hina-chan? You didn't do something stupid and get in trouble, did you?" Yeah, Naruto was quite the smooth talker. But he was adorable in his own way, and he'd really come through if you needed him.

"No, N-Naruto-kun, I am f-fine." Dang stuttering. Can't have a conversation without it. Let's go for 'cute' and see where it gets me. "Just missing you." Oh God. Nice.

"Oh. Cool! I missed you too. Listen, have you ever heard of ramen? 'Cause I didn't, only then we bought some, and man, that stuff is soooooo great! It's cheap and tastes really good, and all you need is water! It doesn't even have to be hot! And it comes in all these flavors like beef and pork and mushroom and shrimp and creamy chicken and-" And he was off.

I think Naruto has some ADHD issues. He's told me about ramen for the first time about five times. He just rants for a bit, and my only requirement it to seem awed in the face of this "new" information, giving me time to think, which I DIDN'T NEED RIGHT NOW!

So what could I do? I drifted and pondered, paradoxes and riddles. I loved them. They were a chance to test my mind, to feel the gears and wheels in my head pull through until they snap into place. Here's one: Feed me and I live, Give me drink and I die. What am I?

The answer is fire. Easy.

More poetic:

The beginning of eternity

The end of time and space

The beginning of every end

And the end of every place.

It sounds beautiful, but it's easy too. The letter "e". The whole situation is a paradox. I'm not even pretty. Why are these boys into me? I'm plenty smart, but the only thing they could be into is the DD's. I'm a real-life Mary Sue. And Mary Sues are so annoying. Damn.

But how the hell do you figure out the riddle of human relation? In love, in like, indifferent? The subject of a million songs written and a million books printed. Was everyone this squeamish and confused about it?

So how the hell do you figure this out?

"-And then he said chicken mushroom was the best flavor, so I hit him, 'cause miso is obviously the best, but it's ok 'cause he just doesn't know any better, but I'll teach him. You ok, Hina-chan?" She blinked. "What? Yes, I'm fine, Naruto." Wait, he does call her Hina-chan, that must mean something! Maybe she should observe his reaction to an informal honorific? "I'm doing great, Naru-ku-"

"HINATA, GET YOUR ASS HOME RIGHT NOW!" Damn. Mom's home. And pissed. And now she'd missed seeing his reaction to the nickname. Double damn.

She got up and jumped to the ground. "See you later, Hinata!" he called. "Bye Naruto!" The moment was past. No nicknames for now.

She trudged across the grass to her trailer, opening the door and slipping in, shutting it silently. She slipped off her shoes by the mat, as was her custom, and walked in to face the dragon, sans armor.

Her mom was sitting in the same golden recliner, watching one of those murder shows, like CSI, or Law and Order, where the criminal is always caught, and death is coolly analyzed and ignored. "Who was that boy?" she asked.

It took Hinata a second to speak. She walked towards the kitchen, picking the mail up off the coffee table, to get out of hitting range. She spoke nonchalantly, in a perfect monotone, "Uzumaki Naruto, mom, from down the street? He just wanted to ask about the math homework." Her mom wouldn't remember that he didn't attend school.

"Hmph." Her mom seemed disinterested enough, but that could change at any moment. Shuffling through the mail, she came upon a school envelope: surely this quarter's grades, and rankings. Shit. Not now. Her mom was already pissed. This would set her off.

Her throat closed. Her pulse thudded. With shaking hands, she opened the letter which held tonight's fate. Oh God. She was in so much trouble….

**Hyuuga Hinata: 5.0**

**Ikameshii Neji: 4.98**

**blahblahblah: blah**

**blahblah: blah**

Her blood roared in her ears. The first two names were all that mattered. No others meant anything to her. "Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.

Really? Are you serious? Are you serious?"

Finally. Oh my God. She finally did it. She was the first in her class. The first in the school. _**She was Number One.**_

And wait until mom saw! She'd be so happy! And she'd smile, and say she was proud, and she would laugh, and then Hinata would make dinner, and they'd spend a happy night at home, just hanging out together. Hinata could keep it up. She'd be Number One next quarter too. She'd do it. Just wait.

She floated out of the kitchen, on a high, holding the letter. Hovering over her mom's chair, her mom looked up, with a scowl and an arched eyebrow. She didn't know. She hadn't seen. Hinata shoved the Blessed Note into her mom's hands.

Her mother took the note and scanned it slowly, reading the words. Hinata nearly burst with pride. Her mom handed it back, then went back to the T.V. Hinata felt a numb feeling start to creep over her. "Mom?"

She answered, eyes on the screen, "What?" Hinata stared. "Mom, I'm number one in the class. I have a perfect GPA." Her mother turned with a glare, "And you think that makes you something fucking special? You're a smart piece of shit. Nobody cares how high your GPA is."

She knew she was treading on dangerous ground, but she couldn't shut up. Not after this long. She was almost angry. "You cared. You're the one who wanted a perfect GPA. Now I've got one. It's what you wanted. I'm the smartest one in my school."

SMACK. Hinata grabbed her painful cheek. Her mother had jumped up from the recliner. "Bitch, you ain't shit! You've never been shit!" She punched Hinata under her ribs, and over the top of her head when she doubled over grabbing her chest. "You're worthless! Always are! A monkey can do school work, that has nothing to do with smart!"

She grabbed Hinata's hair and threw her to the ground, then started to kick her as Hinata tried to protect her head. "YOU'RE NOT SMART! YOU'RE SHIT! NOBODY FUCKING CARES ABOUT YOUR GODDAMN GPA!"

Hinata rolled away, springing to her feet and sprinting out the door, pounding the ground hard with her bare feet. Everything hurt. Everything **hurt**. Especially her chest. She thought that mom would love her now. She was wrong. She was wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Always wrong. Big mouth. Can't do nuthin' right. Always wrong. Always _**wrong**_.

She just kept running. She believed it'd hurt more if she stopped. So she ran, hitting the ground hard with her feet, feeling the scrapes it caused, reveling in the pain she was causing, her pain working out some of the other pain. Each STOMP against the ground felt better, felt angry, felt calmer, felt less like crying, less like dying, less like choking, more like climbing.

Finally she stopped by the side of the road, realizing she didn't know where she was. She was on some kind of forest road, because she didn't see any houses or buildings anywhere, just dark trees on both sides of the road.

She was panting hard, everything sore, but her eyelids were drooping. All she wanted was to pass out. She didn't care anymore. So she walked into the trees, dropping to the ground and crawling to a large Oak, curling herself around the trunk before passing out.

**Ok, guys, here's the next chappie, after like six months. I'm trying to commit to writing more, but we all know I've said that before. *sweatdrop* I'll try. But just so you know, reviews DO encourage me. They won't MAKE me update, but they'll speed it. Sorry for the blackmail.**

**Peace, love, and reviews,**

**~Broken Wings.**


	7. Abuse

This isn't an actual chapter, but I felt the need to put this: What Hinata's mom is doing? It's child abuse. Doesn't matter that Hinata is about 16 in this. Doesn't matter if you don't actually get hit. Or if it only happened once. It's abuse. Physical abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse. If you're getting abused, tell an adult you know in authority, like a teacher. Do the same for someone else. I won't tell you detail, not even in a PM, but I do know abuse. For me, and for a few friends. We know. We've been there. Get out while you can. No matter what they tell you, SOMEONE will help. I am FULLY willing to talk to anybody in this situation, or who needs advice on someone else in this situation. Just PM me, and I'll respond as soon as I get it. I'll try my damndest to help. And that's a promise.

Here's a couple Myths and Facts from /mental/child_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_

MYTH #1: It's only abuse if it's violent. 

Fact: Physical abuse is just one type of child abuse. Neglect and emotional abuse can be just as damaging, and since they are more subtle, others are less likely to intervene. .

MYTH #2: Only bad people abuse their children. 

Fact: While it's easy to say that only "bad people" abuse their children, it's not always so black and white. Not all abusers are intentionally harming their children. Many have been victims of abuse themselves, and don't know any other way to parent. Others may be struggling with mental health issues or a substance abuse problem.

MYTH #3: Child abuse doesn't happen in "good" families. 

Fact: Child abuse doesn't only happen in poor families or bad neighborhoods. It crosses all racial, economic, and cultural lines. Sometimes, families who seem to have it all from the outside are hiding a different story behind closed doors. 

MYTH #4: Most child abusers are strangers. 

Fact: While abuse by strangers does happen, most abusers are family members or others close to the family

MYTH #5: Abused children always grow up to be abusers. 

Fact: It is true that abused children are more likely to repeat the cycle as adults, unconsciously repeating what they experienced as children. On the other hand, many adult survivors of child abuse have a strong motivation to protect their children against what they went through and become excellent parents. 

See? It's legit.

Check out the website. I won't list everything on here. But here're some tips for talking to an abused child:

Avoid denial and remain calm. A common reaction to news as unpleasant and shocking as child abuse is denial. However, if you display denial to a child, or show shock or disgust at what they are saying, the child may be afraid to continue and will shut down. As hard as it may be, remain as calm and reassuring as you can. 

Don't interrogate. Let the child explain to you in his or her own words what happened, but don't interrogate the child or ask leading questions. This may confuse and fluster the child and make it harder for them to continue their story. 

Reassure the child that they did nothing wrong. It takes a lot for a child to come forward about abuse. Reassure him or her that you take what is said seriously, and that it is not the child's fault. 

Safety comes first. If you feel that your safety or the safety of the child would be threatened if you try to intervene, leave it to the professionals. You may be able to provide more support later after the initial professional intervention.

And one last thing, reasons you might not report it?

I don't want to interfere in someone else's family. The effects of child abuse are lifelong, affecting future relationships, self-esteem, and sadly putting even more children at risk of abuse as the cycle continues. Help break the cycle of child abuse. 

What if I break up someone's home? The priority in child protective services is keeping children in the home. A child abuse report does not mean a child is automatically removed from the home - unless the child is clearly in danger. Support such as parenting classes, anger management or other resources may be offered first to parents if safe for the child. 

They will know it was me who called. Reporting is anonymous. In most states, you do not have to give your name when you report child abuse. The child abuser cannot find out who made the report of child abuse. 

It won't make a difference what I have to say. If you have a gut feeling that something is wrong, it is better to be safe than sorry. Even if you don't see the whole picture, others may have noticed as well, and a pattern can help identify child abuse that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks.

**If you see child abuse, in your home or elsewhere, please help. If someone had said something for me, my FF,net name might be different. Talk to someone. Please.**

Help for child sexual abuse:

**1-888-PREVENT** (1-888-773-8368**)** Stop It Now

**1-800-656-HOPE **Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN)

Child Abuse Hotline:

To get help or report abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at **1-800-4-A-CHILD** **(1-800-422-4453)**.

Family Violence:National Domestic Violence Hotline

Phone: 800. (800.799.7233)

Who They Help: Children, parents, friends, offenders

**If the legal system does not provide adequate protection for a child**, call Justice for Children (713-225-4357)

And to wrap it up, a beautiful, sad song by Martina McBride.

She walks to school with the lunch she packed

Nobody knows what she's holding back

Wearing the same dress she wore yesterday

She hides the bruises with the linen and lace, oh

The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask

It's hard to see the pain behind the mask

Bearing the burden of a secret storm

Sometimes she wishes she was never born

Through the wind and the rain she stands hard as a stone

In a world that she can't rise above

But her dreams give her wings and she flies to a place

Where she's loved: concrete angel

Somebody cries in the middle of the night

The neighbors hear but they turn out the light

A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate

When morning comes it will be too late

Through the wind and the rain she stands hard as a stone

In a world that she can't rise above

But her dreams give her wings and she flies to a place

Where she's loved: concrete angel

A statue stands in a shaded place

An angel girl with an upturned face

A name is written on a polished rock

A broken heart that the world forgot

Through the wind and the rain she stands hard as a stone

In a world that she can't rise above

But her dreams give her wings and she flies to a place

Where she's loved: concrete angel.


End file.
